Once Upon a Time

A pretty, smart, artistic girl from Toronto met a dashing, clever hockey player from the tiny town of Norwich, Ontario.

My parents. They were crazy in love with each other. It was obvious every single day. They teased, they cuddled, they talked and only very rarely did they fight.

In this picture they are 22 and 23 years old, barely over half my current age. I came along five years later. They gave me a safe and nurturing home full of love, even when people from the outside were mocking and cruel.

Sometimes I miss that sense of sanctuary very, very much.

Today would have been her 67th birthday. But she had far too few birthdays. This is the 19th birthday that she has not been here for us to bring her gifts and celebrate. And she was always the most fun to get gifts for too, she was the most enthusiastic, gracious and grateful for everything, from little homemade things my sister and I made, to the fur coat my father delightedly gave her for Christmas when she was about my age now.

I miss her very, very much. She will forever be young and beautiful.